Universal War

Bella looked at him and sat down. "About 7 or so years ago, before I joined the force I was in a mechanics race to put a jeep together. I won and he was the one to give the award." 

She looks at the scanner again. "It's how I ended up joining the force a couple of years later, I was capable of planes, all autos and some spaceship mechanics by then and now if it works and it breaks I can fix it. I just hope he doesn't recognize me now. I look a little different."

"Don't worry about him, even if he recognized you...he can't catch you aboard the Shadow...and Groon and I have several places across the galaxy to hide." Damyan replies rubbing a small scar running across his right arm. 

"Just a heads up...the place we're going is a little bit...seedy, be ready."

Bella looked at him and grinned, "Seedy? How seedy?" She tilts her head to the back and says, "Should we load up on weapons?"

Damyan laughs out a bit,"well first off don't wear your shorty shorts there, will cause a brawl...plus I always carry my weapons. Main thing is to keep quiet and let me do the talking...the guy we're meeting is a Kuruvian...he's a little jumpy."

Then turning to the view screen as they drop from hyper the scene before them is a chaotic one at best. The area has ships of all shapes and designs darting around a central station. Its a ancient one built by the Kuru Empire three hundred years ago. As they dock several small creatures run up and begin looking over the ship as they exit. Both Damyan and Groon swiftly chase them away. "Damn furlongs, think anything new is fresh game...any questions before we go in?"

Bella shakes her head and takes what most would consider to be a purse with her. She was a little concerned with the furlongs as they all look like little thieves to her. She put her purse over her neck and pulled it in front of her to keep it safer. Her pockets and jacket had plenty of weaponry just in case she needed it. Bella kept right next to Damyan. 

"No, I'm just keeping my eyes open."

Damyan rests one of his hands on the familiar grip of his pistol as he leads the trio into the main bazaar. After about thirty minutes of passing through grubby aisles filled with all sorts of different aliens they come across a bar located near the rear of the bazaar.

As they enter a pair of Hatarii walk past them smelling of a foul liquor native to their system. Damyan has to hold Groon back from causing a brawl. They reach the booth at the rear where their contact sits. "Kellok been a long time, did you get the sub space memo I sent?"

Kellok like all of his kind is large and bulky with yellowish skin, his trunk shakes as he replies, "yesss....I diddd...these are fool prooff...and my fee.?"

Damyan sends a small credit voucher across the table,"twenty thou as we agreed."

As the trio prepare to leave Kellok gives them a warning,"be very careful my frienddd...those Hatarii are up to no gooddd....I bet my trunk on itttt."

Damyan nods as he leads them to the door. They make their way slowly towards the hanger bay when they see a squad of troops from the Force making way through the crowd. Finding a unlocked cabin they bolt inside,"anyone got any ideas?"

Bella turned to find herself standing in front of the most erotic scene she had ever seen. Groon was drooling and when Damyan turned to tell her to move over he stopped mid word.

Bella felt the blush all the way to her feet and turned toward Damyan to walk back into the hallway but he was prodding her to walk towards the scene to the door on the other side. Bella stopped when one of the 'players' grabbed her boot and tried to pull her into the love pit in the center of the room. Damyan grabbed her by the waist and pulled her upright safely. Bella turned scarlet and looked away from him. She saw him grab Groon and yank him towards the door.

Damyan pulls them back out into the miasma of the crowd,"well I know I hate to perv and run like both of you but we need a new hiding place.". Cursing loudly he sees the squad of Earth marines enter the far end of the market.

Fighting their way through the people he finds a old staircase with a nice and dark shadow below it. Taking them under it he eyes the squad carefully.

Bella smirked at the perv comment and was glad she was facing Damyan's back. She reached for the envelope with her new identity. Groon however, was looking at a growing crowd with several Hatari just outside the docking bay. Looking to see what he was staring at she nearly got them seen as she stood up. "Wow" she murmured under her breath.

She was looking at two robots in a temporary ring beating the tar out of each other. They were not droids but real larger than life robots. She glanced down at the paper and credentials. The picture was an old one but it looked like her. Shoving it into her pocket she spied the name and stopped. "Ailyn Fairchild " It listed her home planet as Thiferria.  The roar of the crowd made her look up as she shoved the credentials into the inside zipper of her jacket. She looked at Damyan who had joined her and Groon in looking at the battle going on in front of them.

"Damn...its a Hatarii robot ring...lets just hope the looser doesn't get mad. Last time I was here and a fight broke out it took me forever to get out of all the rubble." Damyan eyes the crowd looking for signs of the marines following them. "One other thing, I know we're at war with the Hatarii but here on this station its neutral ground."

"Well, I am glad for that." She grabbed Damyan by the hand and pulled him down to her and spoke into his ear. "My new name is Ailyn Fairchild from Thiferria." Ailyn was suddenly hit by a flying piece of one of the robots and it hit her in the side. 

"Ouch!" Groon grabbed her and Damyan and pulled them backwards into the crowd. Unfortunately, the flying pieces made the crowd split apart and they were visible to the Marines.

Damyan leans in close to Ailyn, "look I'm going to cause a ruckus...when I do you and Groon run like hell to the ship, I'll meet you there."

Taking a few strides away from them he walks up to the largest of the two Hatarii and hauls off and punches him hard making him stagger backwards. As Groon leads Ailyn away in a hurry the brawl Damyan knew would happen breaks out. As Damyan and the Hatarii fight the marines that were following get dragged into the melee which seems to last forever until the siren wail of station security shows and most scatter. Damyan still locked in the fight hits his foe hard in its thick neck stunning it long enough for him to slip away.

As the wail is overpowering the area,Groon and Ailyn makes it aboard the ship. Groon seeing Ailyn watching decides to lock the ramp door just to make sure she doesn't do something stupid.

Damyan runs hard and fast away from the fight only to see three of the marines hot on his trail and behind them the Hatarii as well. Cursing he runs up the ramp to find the door locked. "Groon!!! Open the damn door!"
With no response he turns to see the marines now engaged with the Hatarii. Shaking his head as he leans on the door it opens and he tumbles inside slamming the floor at Ailyn's feet. "Damn it Groon...prep the ship to launch."

Ailyn extends a hand to him and he gets to his feet. "Glad you made it back but was that really necessary? I could have gotten us back more quickly with less attention." She starts to head towards her room. "Oh, hey I thought he was going to use the name I chose. I'm not sure how I feel about Ailyn yet. Ally would work as a decent nickname I think."

Before Damyan can answer Groon buts in about he can't launch due to a lock down on the landing gear. Running to the cockpit Damyan using the surface camera sees the problem, the marines made it past the Hatarii and have magnetized the gear to the deck. Cursing he runs out and opens the ramp pistols drawn and he opens fire at the marines feet. 

"What the hell do you want...been following me long enough."

The foremost marine speaks, "the Admiral wishes you to return to his ship...there has been a issue come up and your unique skills are needed."

Damyan takes aim at the speaker,"here is your only option before I burn a nice clean hole in your head...you unlock my ship which you illegally clamped on a neutral station, and I will take my leave, otherwise there will be a bunch of dead marines and I will remove your lock anyway."

The speaker having heard of Damyan's past reputation moves quickly to unlock the ship allowing them to leave the station.

Walking back inside Damyan gets Groon to piloting, "Ally will work...sorry couldn't answer sooner." he then explains what the marine told him to them as well.

Ally looks at him with worry in her eyes. "What could he want?" She was still worried that he would recognize her and she was sure of one thing, she did not want to go back to the marines. "At least with my new ID we could prove that I am not one of the Marines. What kind of 'mission' could he have for you?"

Damyan leads Ally to the Galley while he grabs a drink from the fridge. After taking a seat and a large gulp he begins to tell his tale of his years as a assassin, "the key thing is I was a top ranked assassin...my skill set was above the rest due to special training I was involved in. I could get in make a kill and be gone before the body was even cold...plus I am a master of hand to hand combat as well."
He pauses to take a gulp, "see the real issue is after the Treaty of Golog IV...neither side could train any new assassins...so my breed is fading fast."

She nods and says, "I could see how that would make you valuable but what could he need you to do? I mean who needs assassins these days? It means he wants you to murder someone. That can't be something you would want to do...is it?"

"Well even though the Space Force pushed them back out of our system the war still rages on. Assassins are still used they just can't be trained by the military is all." Damyan takes another gulp, "and no I don't want to go back into that life...yes I still kill but to only protect myself is all."

"That is the only time one should kill anyone at all. I'll help you with whatever he asks if you accept."

She thought of the robots and she got up and left the room. She went to the training room and started to tinker with some metal and spare parts.

MEANWHILE

Sector 7166 Deep Space current location of the Hatarii fleet.

A small shuttle craft docks into the largest craft a Hatarii Battle Cruiser. A Hatarii warrior a general by classification heads to the bridge. 

"M'lord...spies have returned from the Sol system...the freighter escaped our grasp." the General speaks as he drops to one knee.

A large Hatarii male dressed in thick robes and heavy armor turns to face the one on his knee, "I give you one simple task, to destroy of all craft, a damn freighter and you fail me!!!! By Slith's Teat I'm surrounded by idiots."

The general now shaking in his boots speaks stammering a bit as he does, "M'lord...I have word the freighter has left the Sol system and has been seen in neutral space...if the said item is still on board we may yet retrieve it."

The robed male rubs his scaly chin, "send spies after him...follow only do not engage...if my sources are correct this one is not a regular smuggler...now begone."

The general makes haste away as the robed one turns back to the view screens.

Ailyn has taken some spare parts and pieces and started to work on the basic beginnings of a robot. After a couple of hours she has a basic body, it is the main computer components that she is missing. Frustrated she gets up and starts to pound on the punching bag.

MEANWHILE


Peter, Clark and Diana receive the news of their sister's death on Europa. Within minutes a second message arrives, Peter gets it and reads it to his siblings. It comes from a Bella Parker speaking of their sister on Europa. Peter's tears begin to dry up and he starts to laugh. 

Confused Diana asks, "What the hell is so damned funny about our sister getting killed?"

Peter grins, "She isn't dead. Don't you get it? Bella=Bell and Parker is my name. She is using an alias for some reason."

Clark nods, "Okay but why?"

Peter shakes his head slowly, "I'm not sure but I intend to find out. First thing to do is find where this was sent from and search for Bella Parker. I'm betting she is hiding from the marines, I just don't know why."

Peter hops on his cycle and heads to the main information facility.

Damyan returns to the cockpit to find Groon going on about the com message. Reluctantly he activates the com to see the image of the Admiral pop up, he listens to the message then gets up and heads for the new training bay to find Ally.

Entering the bay he sees the shell of a robot taking shape and finds her punching away. "We need to talk...seems the Admiral's message now includes you too. They captured a Hatarii spy, and among his items was a holo taken of us aboard the Dreadnought while we were there...why you may ask is this a problem, well it deals with that job I was doing back on Luna."

Ailyn keeps punching  and gives the bag a full body kick and a roundhouse. She stops and grabs her water bottle. Breathing hard she asks,

"Yeah? What was that job anyway you never actually said. If he is requesting me too he must recognize me. Shit." She blows the hair in her face away and it falls right back down so she shoves it aside.

Damyan begins to punch a nearby bag as he relates his tale. "Well Groon and I were hired to steal a certain rare crystal...the ones only found on the Hatarii home world...well we decided to take a short cut and took a hand full of those crystals from a outer rim base of theirs, I'm betting they want them back. I have heard that there are some strange properties to these things and I'll bet even money the Hatarii don't want us to figure it out."

He hits the bag hard with a uppercut knocking the bag loose from its moorings sending it flying. "The problem is my buyer backed out at the last minute and we still have the crystals."

"Okay, what did the admiral say about the holo and me? And what are you planning on doing with the crystals?"